David Lemieux vs James De La Rosa Betting Odds and Prediction

Canadian middleweight David Lemieux is back in action this Saturday, March 12th when he takes on James De La Rosa of Mexico at the Olympia Theatre in his hometown of Montreal, Canada. Fans in North America can catch the 10-round action live on the Fox Deportes network. Lemieux’s last outing was an eighth-round round stoppage at the hands of WBA/IBO middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin of Kazakhstan in October. Lemieux was on a nine-bout winning streak before meeting Golovkin. De La Rosa’s last contest was way back in December of 2014 when he was stopped in five rounds by Hugo Centeno Jr.

Lemieux vs De La Rosa Betting Odds

My Pick

The 27-year-old Lemieux is a former IBF Middleweight Champion who will enter the ring with an impressive record of 34-3 with 31 Kos to his name. Meanwhile the 28-year-old De La Rosa is 23-3 with 13 Kos. Lemieux’s losses have been to Golovkin, Marco Antonio Rubio and Joachim Alcine with Rubio and Golovkin both stopping him and Alcine taking a majority decision. With Lemieux, you rarely see the fight go the distance as he either knocks his opponent out or gets stopped himself. He had a hard time handling Golovkin’s jab and power and Rubio’s power was also too much for him.

De La Rosa’s biggest win so far was a 10-round decision over the hard-hitting Alfredo Angulo back in September of 2014. He decked Angulo in the second round on his way to victory. De La Rosa stands 5-feet-10-inches and has a reach of 72-inches. He’s fought 138 rounds since turning pro in and has a knockout ratio of 50 per cent. He likes to fight at a distance and control the pace of his bouts with a good jab which he follows up with a hook. De La Rosa should find Lemieux right in front of him when the bell rings and better be prepared to either slug it out or outbox his foe.

There’s a good chance he’ll take the boxing option since he can’t match Lemieux in the power and aggression departments. De La Rosa needs to protect himself by keeping his hands up and making sure he stays out of the Canadian’s firing range. He also needs to throw quick, accurate punches to keep Lemieux at bay and needs to display a solid chin. Lemieux will take the fight on the inside when he can by cutting off the ring and should make an effort go to his opponent’s body instead of just headhunting.

Lemieux is just over 5-foot-9 and also has a 70-inch reach. He’s fought 128 rounds since turning pro in 2007. He won the IBF title by beating Hassan N’Dam in last June for the vacant crown and lost it to Golovkin. Lemieux has a puncher’s chance against anybody though as he owns a knockout ratio of 84 per cent, but his chin is somewhat questionable.

Prediction……

Lemieux has to win this contest if he hopes to remain a top-10 contender with hopes at another title shot. He’s slipped down the rankings since losing to Golovkin and needs some wins against big-name opposition. De La Rosa is a former welterweight who perhaps should have stayed in that division. He has a shot at beating Lemieux if he can land something right on the chin, but the bigger Lemieux will likely stop him sometime before the 10 round distance.